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Cargill's "1000 Farmers 1000 Abundance" Program Reaches 27 Provinces

Turkchem 25 Sep 2024 53 4 dk okuma

Cargill's 1000 Farmers 1000 Prosperity Programme, launched to increase farmer productivity and welfare and support social and digital transformation in the field, has entered its sixth year. The programme has delivered yield increases of up to 20 percent to participating farmers to date, and 24 percent as of 2023, while its social return on investment reached TRY 3.72 for every TRY 1 as of 2023.

Cargill's 1000 Farmers 1000 Prosperity programme, launched to increase farmer welfare and product yields and to promote regenerative agriculture practices, has entered its sixth year.

The programme provides participants with specially designed free training, access to digital agriculture tools and advisory services tailored to their needs. As a result, farmer product yields increased by up to 24 percent in 2023, while the negative effects of climate change are being reduced.

The programme began in 2019 in 6 provinces with the participation of 1,072 farmers across 264,780 decares of maize fields. As it enters its sixth year, it has reached 27 provinces, over 910,000 decares of land and more than 6,700 maize, sunflower and canola producers.

Along with provinces added this year, the programme is being implemented in the following provinces: Adana, Afyon, Aksaray, Amasya, Ankara, Aydın, Balıkesir, Bilecik, Bursa, Çanakkale, Edirne, Eskişehir, Hatay, Istanbul, Izmir, Karaman, Kırıkkale, Kırklareli, Kocaeli, Konya, Manisa, Mersin, Osmaniye, Samsun, Sinop, Tekirdağ, Tokat.

The 1000 Farmers 1000 Prosperity Programme has so far received 48 national and international awards, including the Edison Award for the world's most innovative products and business leaders. 1000 Farmers 1000 Prosperity is the first corporate social responsibility programme in Turkey's agriculture and food sector to conduct social impact research and measurement.

The environmental, social and economic impacts created by the services and training provided under the programme are converted into financial value using the Social Return On Investment (SROI) method. SROI has increased year on year since the programme's launch and as of 2023 generated an impact of TRY 3.72 for every TRY 1 on its main stakeholders, the farmers.

Carat Taraçoğlu, Chairman and CEO of Cargill Food Solutions Turkey, Middle East and Africa, said, "The 1000 Farmers 1000 Prosperity programme is a programme through which we connect and collaborate with farmers. It is an excellent example of how the food system can continue to meet the needs of a rapidly growing world population in a responsible and sustainable manner." Taraçoğlu said, "Cargill is proud to provide Turkish farmers with the tools and resources needed to advance their operations, lives and the communities in which they live."

1000 Farmers 1000 Prosperity will focus in the coming period on including more female farmers in the programme. In line with this goal, efforts will be made to include at least 100 female farmers in the first year and to triple this number each year. Along with this newly added module, in addition to maize, sunflower and canola, olive farmers this year and female farmers growing different products in subsequent years will also be included in the programme. Along with comprehensive training on occupational health and safety, regenerative agriculture training will continue.

About 1000 Farmers 1000 Prosperity:

1000 Farmers 1000 Prosperity is a corporate responsibility programme launched by Cargill in 2019 to increase the welfare of farmers in Turkey and the productivity of their fields, to promote sustainable agriculture practices and to support social and digital transformation in agriculture. In addition to being the longest-running and most comprehensive support programme for farmers in the country, it is the first corporate responsibility programme in the food and agriculture sector to conduct social impact research (SROI).

Since 2023, 1000 Farmers 1000 Prosperity has encouraged farmers to focus more on regenerative agriculture practices. Farmers participating in the programme can follow special irrigation, fertilization and pesticide application practices that help reduce disease risk and prevent soil contamination in their fields. The programme also helps farmers reduce the environmental impact of their products while strengthening their fields through improved soil health.

As of 2024, the programme reaches more than 6,000 maize, sunflower and canola producers across 27 provinces, providing farmers with field-specific advisory services, training and access to digital tools. 1000 Farmers 1000 Prosperity, which published its second Progress Report in 2023, has received 48 national and international awards. For more information, visit 1000ciftci1000bereket.com and https://www.instagram.com/1000ciftci_1000bereket.

1000 Farmers 1000 Prosperity Programme in Numbers:

The programme supports more than 6,700 producers across 27 provinces.
Over 910,000 decares of land under the programme are planted with sunflower, maize and canola.
Thanks to the programme, farmers experienced average yield increases of up to 20 percent per year. Productivity increases were achieved at 23 percent in 2021, 20 percent in 2022 and 24 percent in 2023.
Fertilizer management (reduction in fertilizer use) resulted in 50.6 percent savings in 2023.
Total carbon emissions decreased by 36 percent.
The environmental, social and economic impacts created by the services and training provided under the programme are converted into financial value using the Social Return On Investment (SROI) method. SROI generated an impact of TRY 2.53 for every TRY 1 in 2019, TRY 2.78 in 2020, TRY 3.03 in 2021, TRY 3.23 in 2022 and TRY 3.72 in 2023.
Two progress reports covering the 2019-2020 and 2021-2022 production seasons were published under the programme.
460,000 hours of data were collected under the programme.
12,850 hectares were monitored using satellites.
Over 180,000 satellite images were made available to farmers.
50,600 minutes of consultations with farmers were conducted through the Technical Support Line.
Between 2019-2024, a total of 190 Filiz sensors and 44 PestTrap devices were installed.
In the 2023 season, changes of 69 percent in financial literacy, 73 percent in agricultural technical knowledge, 81 percent in data-driven business practices, 74 percent in cooperation and 62 percent in environmental activities were observed among farmers.
The programme has won 48 national and international awards since 2019.